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Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 7:18 am
by Algot Runeman
jefe

Pronunciation: /ˈhefā
noun
US • informal
A boss or leader; a person in charge of something.

Origin
late 19th century: Spanish from French chef 'chief'.

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"Hola, Jefe. What do you need done today?" was Manolo's greeting as he walked in the shop, early for his shift by half an hour, as usual. He was ready for anything.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 8:19 am
by voralfred
Algot Runeman wrote:folderol

Pronunciation: /ˈfäldəˌräl, ˈfôldəˌrôl
(also falderal)
noun
1 Trivial or nonsensical fuss: all the folderol of the athletic contests and the cheerleaders
1.1 • dated A showy but useless item.

First Known Use: circa 1820
(…)

As a french speaker, I am amazed at the semantic evolution that made "folderol" a nonsensical object, or concept.
The origin of this word is so obviously, for me, "fou-du-roi", namely a court jester, a buffoon, that I automatically understood it as "a nonsensical person"
But this is not even a secondary meaning for that word, however much I looked for it !
So indeed, folderol is something that could be done, or said, or thought, or used, or owned, by a "fou-du-roi", but not the person himself. Weird.. totally folderol, if you ask me….
Then, you probably think I am making an excessive folderol about that...

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 9:33 am
by Algot Runeman
voralfred, we could never accuse you of "excessive" folderol. :D

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 9:58 am
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote:jefe
Maybe Ferran Adrià, the head chef of El Bulli, was a bully. I don't know, I never went there. But he certainly was el jefe.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 10:43 am
by Algot Runeman
E.P.S., have you read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell? One thread of the multi-threaded story takes place in the city of Bruges. It sounds like a beautiful place, in spite of the dark nature of the story thread from the book. Checking with Google and Wikipedia, I see that Bruges is in your section of Belgium. I wonder if the portrayal of Bruges is well done in the book or is just a bunch of folderol with details from travel books snarfed up by the author.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2014 11:36 am
by voralfred
Algot Runeman wrote:E.P.S., have you read Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell? One thread of the multi-threaded story takes place in the city of Bruges. It sounds like a beautiful place, in spite of the dark nature of the story thread from the book. Checking with Google and Wikipedia, I see that Bruges is in your section of Belgium. I wonder if the portrayal of Bruges is well done in the book or is just a bunch of folderol with details from travel books snarfed up by the author.
Algot, beware !

Bruges is indeed a very beautiful city, with canals (it is often called the Venice of the North) and beautiful swans in those canals.
But is does have a dark side, as can be learned form the legend around those swans.
And confusing a Fleming from Bruges with one from Ghent, or conversely, can bring upon you a fate worse than that of Pieter Lanchals. Don't expect them to be magnanimous, but rather to make an awful folderol about such a confusion.

I shudder at the idea of confusing a Fleming from Antwerp with either of the above. Especially one with access to a dentist's drill. Remember Marathon Man ?

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Thu Mar 27, 2014 6:52 am
by Algot Runeman
widdershins

Pronunciation: /ˈwidərˌSHinz
(also withershins)
adverb
chiefly Scottish
In a direction contrary to the sun’s course, considered as unlucky; counterclockwise.

Origin
early 16th century: from Middle Low German weddersins, from Middle High German widersinnes, from wider 'against' + sin 'direction'; the second element was associated with Scots sin 'sun'.

Image

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Horace Greeley was probably not thinking of anti-widdershins luck when he recommended, "Go west, young man" during the expansion of the American population after the US Civil War.

[It is a little odd, from my perspective, that widdershins as 'counterclockwise' represents going east. I think of looking north at my maps which suggests clockwise for eastbound travel. Looking at the face of a clock with hands, counterclockwise looks like moving west as well. The Wikipedia entry indicates that the point of view is from the "Arctic Circle" or as if standing at the north pole.]

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 7:22 am
by Algot Runeman
fossick

Pronunciation: /ˈfäsik
verb
[no object] Australian/New Zealand • informal
1Rummage; search: he spent years fossicking through documents
1.1Search for gold in abandoned workings.

Origin
mid 19th century (referring to mining): probably from the English dialect sense 'obtain by asking' (i.e., 'ferret out').

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Archaeologists make a profession of fossiking through someone's cast-offs. Though they collect many a cracked pot, they generally are not called crackpots.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:32 am
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote:fossick
One day old Amos met old Angus and pseudo-dragged him along (Angus vigorously pretended to be dragged) to a shaded table at the park's open-air café.

They ordered two pints of Trappist and after they'd each had a few sips and exchanged a few verbal jabs and friendly insults, Amos said, "Guess what, you old fossil, yesterday I fossicked through my old photo albums. I still have the shots we took during our student exchange stint at the RUG (Dutch: Rijksuniversiteit Gent, abbreviated as RUG). I must say, you didn't look much better then than you do now!"

Angus replied: "Well, can you try and remember that dental student from Antwerp who couldn't stop gushing about his grandma? And the two twin co-eds? You were impotent with booze of course, but those girls made me feel so r... "

I'll respect these two old friends' privacy, because from here on in their conversation became personal and somewhat bawdy. I'm sure your imagination can fill in, just fossick a bit in your own memories.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 9:38 am
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote:widdershins
... In a direction contrary to the sun’s course, considered as unlucky; counterclockwise. ...
I wonder if widdershinsity is a remnant of the geocentric belief.

In the heliocentric view the Earth orbits the Sun counterclockwise.

But in the geocentric belief, the Sun orbits the Earth *clockwise*!

Of course, both cases only as seen from the Northern celestial hemisphere, or i.o.w. in the flat Earth belief.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Fri Mar 28, 2014 12:12 pm
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
voralfred wrote: ... And confusing a Fleming from Bruges with one from Ghent, or conversely, can bring upon you a fate worse than ...
I shudder at the idea of confusing a Fleming from Antwerp with either of the above.
Hey! The French too have their little feuds.
Just remember "La cuisine au beurre".
This is probably one of the most underrated comedies coming out of French cinema. It features two of its' "monstres sacrés", Fernandel and Bourvil.
...
Suffice it to say that the acting is absolutely GREAT !
To this day I'm still not sure which is better for cooking: butter or olive oil. I use both, depending.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 5:45 pm
by Algot Runeman
snark

Pronunciation: /snärk
noun
An imaginary animal (used to refer to someone or something that is difficult to track down).

Origin
1876: nonsense word coined by Lewis Carroll in The Hunting of the Snark.

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With no intention to be flippant, I admit, I've never seen a snark. Then again, I've never seen a unicorn either. That does not mean I'll stop looking. Imagine that!

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Sat Mar 29, 2014 11:00 pm
by voralfred
Algot Runeman wrote: With no intention to be flippant, I admit, I've never seen a snark. Then again, I've never seen a unicorn either. That does not mean I'll stop looking. Imagine that!
Algot, if your Snark be a Snark, do keep looking.
These are the best methods to find one (as you probably know, by now):

You may seek it with thimbles—and seek it with care;
You may hunt it with forks and hope;
You may threaten its life with a railway-share;
You may charm it with smiles and soap.

But oh, beamish Algot, beware of the day,
If your Snark be a Boojum! For then
You will softly and suddenly vanish away,
And never be met with again!

..which would be a serious loss to this thread !

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Sun Mar 30, 2014 6:30 am
by Algot Runeman
greige

Pronunciation: /grāZH
noun
A color between beige and gray.

Origin
blend of gray1 and beige, perhaps influenced by French grège 'raw (silk)'.

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Earle Grey acknowledged that he turned to tea because his art was marred by colorblindness. Gray was greige as often as beige. Pink was too pale to parse.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Mon Mar 31, 2014 9:03 am
by Algot Runeman
verisimilitude

Pronunciation: /ˌverəsəˈmiliˌt(y)o͞od
noun
The appearance of being true or real: the detail gives the novel some verisimilitude

Origin
early 17th century: from Latin verisimilitudo, from verisimilis 'probable', from veri (genitive of verus 'true') + similis 'like'.

Image
Theen Moy

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Harmon gazed with love at his wife, Gertrude.
Though she wasn't formed of flesh and bone.
Her being was mere verisimilitude.
An android, with synthoskin alone.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Tue Apr 01, 2014 7:11 am
by Algot Runeman
extrados

Pronunciation: /ˈekstrəˌdäs
noun (plural same or extradoses)
Architecture
The upper or outer curve of an arch. Often contrasted with intrados.

Origin
late 18th century: from French, from Latin extra 'outside' + French dos 'back' (from Latin dorsum).

Image
Dauvit Alexander

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Archie gazed lovingly at the doorway. No simple lintel squared across the top. Instead, there was the sturdy curve of voussoirs, the wedged stones which made the arch over the entrance. Archie especially liked it when the "extrados", the upper surfaces of each stone, were extended from the building's face with decorative carvings in the stone.

[The wings of an airplane have the term extrados applied to the upper, curved surface, too.]

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Wed Apr 02, 2014 7:01 am
by Algot Runeman
rathe

Pronunciation: /rāT͟H, raTH
adjective
• archaic • literary
1 (Of a person or their actions) prompt and eager.
1.1 (Of flowers or fruit) blooming or ripening early in the year.

Origin
Old English hræth, hræd, of Germanic origin; perhaps related to the base of rash1.

Image

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Outside my back door, the rathe crocus flowers have burst forth.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 12:03 pm
by Algot Runeman
corvine

Pronunciation: /ˈkôrˌvīn
adjective
Of or like a raven or crow, especially in color.

Origin
mid 17th century: from Latin corvinus, from corvus 'raven'.

Image
hep

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The raven-haired beauty swept across the room, drawing the gaze of every male there. It may not have been her corvine hair alone that drew their attention.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Fri Apr 04, 2014 6:25 am
by Algot Runeman
mezzaluna

Pronunciation: /ˌmetsəˈlo͞onə
noun
A utensil for chopping herbs, vegetables, etc., with a semicircular blade and a handle at each end.

Origin
1950s: from Italian, literally 'half moon'.

Image
Jason Bachman

☋☋☋☋☋☋☋☋☋☋☋☋☋☋☋☋☋


Maria manipulated Mark's mezzaluna masterfully. Mark marvelled. Marinade: magnificent.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Sat Apr 05, 2014 5:31 pm
by Algot Runeman
lycanthropy

Pronunciation: /līˈkanTHrəpē
noun
1The supernatural transformation of a person into a wolf, as recounted in folk tales.
1.1 • archaic A form of madness involving the delusion of being an animal, usually a wolf, with correspondingly altered behavior.

Origin
late 16th century (as a supposed form of madness): from modern Latin lycanthropia, from Greek lukanthrōpia, from lukos 'wolf' + anthrōpos 'human being, man'.

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Like Aunt Thropé, Joe enjoyed study of ancestry. In his case, it meant tracing his roots through the lore of lycathropy, too.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2014 7:18 am
by Algot Runeman
Hotspur

Pronunciation: /ˈhätˌspər
a rash, impetuous person

Origin: the nickname of Sir Henry Percy (see Percy, Sir Henry).

Image

*\_= *\_= *\_= *\_= *\_= *\_= *\_= *\_= *\_=

Jack Rowell was no hotspur, but wasting hours waiting was not his style, either.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Sun Apr 06, 2014 11:16 am
by E Pericoloso Sporgersi
Algot Runeman wrote:Hotspur
In my mind's eye, I can clearly see Sir Hotspur Percy dressed in flaring jodhpurs, winklepickers, quilt gilet, glengarry, swishing a crop and addressing women with "Memsahib".

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Mon Apr 07, 2014 6:07 pm
by Algot Runeman
esurient

Pronunciation: /iˈso͝orēənt
adjective
• archaic
Hungry or greedy.

Origin
late 17th century: from Latin esurient- 'being hungry', from the verb esurire, from esse 'eat'.

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Don't be too esurient for the WotD this week. Conference duties disturb verbal distribution.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 7:45 am
by Algot Runeman
lexical

Pronunciation: /ˈleksikəl
adjective
1 Of or relating to the words or vocabulary of a language: lexical analysis
1.1 Relating to or of the nature of a lexicon or dictionary: a lexical entry

Origin
mid 19th century: from Greek lexikos 'of words' (from lexis 'word') + -al.

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The wonderful WotD clan leads the lexical league in love of language, AKA words.

Re: GAME: Word of the Day (WOTD)

Posted: Wed Apr 09, 2014 7:28 am
by Algot Runeman
rebus

Pronunciation: /ˈrēbəs
noun (plural rebuses)

1 A puzzle in which words are represented by combinations of pictures and individual letters; for instance, apex might be represented by a picture of an ape followed by a letter X.
1.1 • historical An ornamental device associated with a person to whose name it punningly alludes.

Origin
early 17th century: from French rébus, from Latin rebus, ablative plural of res 'thing'.

Image
schoolfreeware

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Rob wasn't a rebel. His Massachusetts origins made him a d**n Yankee. We'd like to make him a reb-like-us.